Wednesday, July 20, 2011

LinkedIn CEO says Google+ can’t “coexist” with Facebook and Twitter

Google+ makes demands on free time users simply don’t have, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner has claimed, going on to suggest that the new Google service will struggle as it doesn’t fit into the established triumvirate of popular social networks.

Speaking at an event this week, Weiner was asked whether Google+ could coexist with Facebook, Twitter and his own LinkedIn, Business Insider reports; the CEO’s own perspective is relatively negative, claiming that “nobody has any free time.”

As Weiner sees it, until recently three main networks saw the most usage: Twitter, for “microcasting” short snippets of information; Facebook, for communicating with family and friends; and LinkedIn for “your professional life.” That leaves little room for Google+, he argues. “You introduce Google+, where am I going to spend that next minute or hour of my discretionary time? I have no more time.”

It’s not just Weiner that is time-short and network-rich, the CEO argues. Google+ will suffer, he suggests, because it will struggle to find a niche alongside services users have already invested time and energy in. ”Nobody has any free time” he says. “Unlike social platforms and TV, which can coexist, you don’t see people using Twitter while they’re using Facebook, or using Facebook while they’re using LinkedIn.”

That differs from MySpace founder Tom Anderson’s opinion of Google+ which, though he cautioned Google’s engineers from becoming too reliant on algorithms to filter what content people see, was generally positive.

Anderson suggested that, rather than Google+ “killing” Facebook, in fact the established network’s overly-enthusiastic filter could leave users disillusioned with the amount of interaction they see there, compared to what’s taking place on Google+.